Crash!
Several tons of iron plates, carried by gravity, slammed onto the rocks, sending shattered stones flying everywhere. Fortunately, the rocks themselves were sturdy enough to avoid being smashed to pieces and tumbling into the abyss below.
A worker, with a rope tied around his waist, walked to the other end of the stone slab, tapping and knocking with a hammer on the ground before finally putting the hammer back on his belt and untying the rope.
"No problem, bring over another one!"
Rowen couldn't understand how simply hammering a few times with a hammer could determine if the geology was stable. It didn't seem scientific at all; it could only be attributed to the mystical knowledge of the old workers.
Crash, Crash, Crash!
With each muffled sound, another iron plate was erected in the middle of the cliff, forming a bridge of steel and iron.
"Sir, there are no signs of the stone door being opened before!"
Soon, the inspection report from the excavation team reached Rowen's hands.
They carefully examined the stone door, confirming that there were no hidden mechanisms or secret passages on it and that the door had never been opened before.
Similar to the door that initially blocked their path, this one was equally thick and heavy, standing as a formidable barrier to ordinary people. It lacked the elaborate reliefs on the outside, replaced instead by unique and peculiar patterns carved into the stone.
"Hmm... then open it."
Rowen couldn't understand the measurement data on the paper, so he simply tossed it aside and ordered the door to be opened.
Regardless of what had attacked Rebeke's group, it was obvious that their goal was to stop these intruders.
And since they had been inside for so long without being attacked, perhaps... the enemy was asleep?
Well then, let's break it down!
The old trick of surrounding Wei to rescue Zhao had stood the test of time; it was definitely effective! As for going down to the bottom of the canyon to find answers…
(Surrounding Wei to rescue Zhao- force the strong enemy to retreat in order to support his weakness. )
Rowen thought about it once and then ruled out that option.
Rebeke and the others were almost certainly dead. This wasn't a movie; there wasn't always a moral rescue.
"Yes, sir!"
After the foreman saluted, he quickly left, instructing his subordinates to bring tools from the opposite cliff.
If they wanted to lure the snake out of its hole, they had to startle the grass first. How to do it was a matter of skill.
Fortunately, the entire group had the foresight to prepare an ample amount of explosives. Setting aside some to blast the door open posed no problem at all.
Previously, they were afraid of damaging any valuable items behind the door, but now Rowen ignored those concerns. He was determined to use the most destructive method to show the enemy that he didn't care and force them to show themselves.
Before long, the explosives were ready.
"Prepare to ignite!"
At the leader's call, the workers, tools in hand, hurriedly ran to hide on the other side of the canyon.
Rowen shook off the ash from his cigar, closed his eyes, and furrowed his brow slightly.
"No coffin, no tears? Or am I overthinking it?"
Even now, the enemy had not appeared. Although the explosives in front of the door wouldn't collapse the cliff, they were more than enough to destroy the stone door.
By then, there would be no way to stop these intruders.
After waiting for a while and confirming that nothing unusual had happened, Rowen opened his eyes and raised his hand.
The detonation team received the signal, nodded quickly, and placed their hands on the trigger mechanism. Then, with a loud shout:
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"Ignite..."
At that moment...
Hiss!
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed in the void, and a sharp angle of black light shot upward, slicing through the detonation team member's neck, leaving three gaping wounds, from which blood sprayed out like it cost nothing, quickly staining the ground.
"Heh... Heh...!"
The vitality in his eyes quickly faded, and then his body toppled forward.
Crash!
"No! Look what you've done?!"
The black shadow emitted a piercing scream, sounding vaguely familiar.
With the detonation team member's body falling to the ground, the weight pressed down, activating the trigger mechanism in the same way, causing the ignition device to immediately start operating.
Swish!
Almost in an instant, the black shadow flashed to the front of the explosives pile, extending his arm and slashing heavily toward the ground.
He intended to cut the fuse before the explosives ignited, thus avoiding the explosion.
But at that moment...
"They've finally appeared!"
Intense electric sparks burst from Rowen's eyes, and thunder roared through his body, propelling him to extreme speeds.
Soru!
Boom!
Bang!
A powerful explosion swept through half of the cliff, rolling smoke and dust filling the air. In the distance, the workers stared dumbfoundedly ahead, until someone exclaimed in shock, "Vice Admiral, did he go in?"
At the instant of the explosion, the figure in the air drew elegant and clean tassels of blue, clearly visible to everyone.
Taking the initiative to rush into the explosion... what would be the outcome?
Zi Zi... Boom!
At this moment, thunder rose from the smoke, surging currents crashing and pushing the smoke and dust outward.
Seeing this, the workers all breathed a sigh of relief.
Bang!
The excavation team commander angrily knocked on the head of the worker who had spoken up, scolding, "Stop worrying! The Vice Admiral is a powerful Logia Ability user. The explosion can't hurt him at all!"
"Quit babbling!"
Rowen's voice came from behind the smoke, "Get me a sturdy rope, the stronger the better."
"Yes! Right away, sir!"
The commander suppressed his anger, his face suddenly subservient, and without another word, he hurried off to find the rope.
A few minutes later, as they looked at the elderly figure bound tightly with steel bars piercing through his body, all the members of the excavation team were shocked into silence.
"Mr. Rebeke? How can it be you?!"
That's right!
The person who attacked them wasn't anyone else but the archaeologist, Rebeke, the old scholar!
Rowen had been observing the surroundings all along, and at the moment when the old scholar appeared, he too hesitated for a moment due to shock.
Before this, he hadn't sensed any strength worthy of note (Doriki value ≥10) from the old scholar.
But now, that intimidating Killing Intentions could be clearly felt even by ordinary people.
Otherwise, the Detonation team member wouldn't have died.
As the champion in terms of speed, what ambush could succeed in front of him?
This was Rowen's shame.
Moreover, the binding process further demonstrated Rebeke's extraordinariness. The tenacious cowhide ropes were easily snapped by him, forcing Rowen to intervene personally. Only through Thunder-smelted Iron-modified steel plates were they able to successfully restrain him.
"Despicable! Blasphemers!"
"God will punish you!"
The transformed Rebeke was no longer the calm and serene figure of the past, now he had a fierce expression with red eyes as he glared at everyone.
Those who fell under his gaze couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts, involuntarily stepping back.
Simply being ruthless was one thing, but what was most terrifying was that Rebeke's hands were now transformed into huge elliptical claw spikes, similar to A's dark Virus.
The elliptical shell enveloped the entire forearm, as hard as steel, with only three fingers remaining, each one a razor-sharp blade twenty centimeters long, emitting a chilling aura.
Facing someone wielding such deadly weapons, fear was the natural response.
However...
Thud!
Sitting on a stone stool, Rowen lifted his foot and stomped Rebeke's raised head firmly into the hard ground.
Watching the indentation in Rebeke's face caused by the impact, the expressions of the excavation team members changed.
(￣ー￣)...
Well.
We almost forgot, given the current situation, this guy is actually the most terrifying.
(End of this chapter)
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